This poem refers to stock characters — real and fictional — from Germanic lore. Some of the figures are now obscure, and most are not known directly from Old English versions of the story. I have modernized many of the names in my translation, giving them forms that would be plausible as Modern English versions of the name. The biggest exception is Wayland, whose Old English name would actually have been Weeland or Weland had it survived into the modern period.
Wayland (Old English Wéland, Old Norse Vǫlundr, Old High German Wiolant) was a smith renowned for his metal working ability. He was forced to work for Nithad (OE Niþhad, ON Níðuðr) who hamstrung him to stop his escape. Wayland avenged himself by killing the king's sons, raping his daughter Beadild (OE Beadohilde, ON Bǫðvildr). Mathild and Geat are opaque. They appear to be famous lovers that met a tragic end, like Romeo and Juliet, or Layla and Majnun. The ablest guess is that they correspond to Magnhild and Gaute of a Scandinavian ballad tale recorded in the 19th century, but even if so the story as it was known to the poet's English audience may well have differed greatly from the version known from Scandinavia a thousand years later. Thedric is Theodoric, the Ostrogothic emperor who ruled in Italy from 493 to 526. Armenric is Ermanaric the Goth, another famous tyrant, known to us from Beowulf and Widsith. (I confected the form Armenric by positing that the vowel of Eormanric underwent pre-rhotic lowering to /a/ in Late Middle English and, as in most native words, failed to raise again in the Early Modern period. Eormanric becomes Armenric just like "feorr", "deorc" do "far", "dark".)
The phonology of my recording below is not based on the extant West Saxon text in the Exeter Book. That'd be too easy and I wanted to do something different. Trying to date a poem as short as this is difficult, but its subject matter and in particular its preservation of genuine Old English reflexes of mythical proper names suggests that it isn't much younger than the 9th century if that. I based my reading on the Mercian dialect recorded in the Vespasian Psalter. Thus vowel length has collapsed in inflectional endings, /ĕ̄o/ and /ĭ̄o/ have merged, and Mercian second fronting is in full effect. The text shown in the video is meant to give an idea of what the text in the Exeter Book might have looked like if it were copied out faithfully from a Mercian exemplar.
Deor
By Anonymnous
Translated by A.Z. Foreman
Wayland in Wormland went through harrows,
The strongminded smith suffered in exile.
Worry and longing walked beside him,
winter-raw anguish. He ached for escape
after King Nithad cramped his sinews
and bound a slave of the better man.
That passed in time. So too can this.
To Beadild's mind her brothers' deaths
weren't as wounding as what she faced
herself when she came to clearly see
that she was pregnant. That princess unwed
could not handle what would become of her.
That passed in time. So too can this.
We know the tale of tragic Mathild.
the Geat bore her a bottomless passion,
all sleep banished by a baneful love
That passed in time. So too can this.
Tyrant Thedrick for thirty winters
ruled the Mearings, as many know.
That passed in time. So too can this.
We have all heard tell of Armenrick
and his wolfsick mind. He was one cruel king,
That overlord of the outland Goths
whose state was set in strung-up hearts
as strong men sat in sorrow-chains
awaiting the worst, and wishing so much
for a foe to liberate the land of their king.
That passed in time. So too can this.
A man sits mournful, mind ripped from joy.
His spirit in dark, he deems himself
foredoomed to endure ordeals forever.
Then he may think how throughout the world
the Wise God goes and works around:
meting out grace, mercy and certain
success to some, suffering to many.
Of myself I want to say just this:
I was high poet to the Hedenings once,
Dear to my master. "Deer" was my name.
For many winters I was a man in that hall
And the heart of my lord. But Herrend came
And reaped the riches and rights of land
That guardian of men once granted me,
And stole my place with a poet's skill.
That passed in time. So too can this.
meting out grace, mercy and certain
success to some, suffering to many.
Of myself I want to say just this:
I was high poet to the Hedenings once,
Dear to my master. "Deer" was my name.
For many winters I was a man in that hall
And the heart of my lord. But Herrend came
And reaped the riches and rights of land
That guardian of men once granted me,
And stole my place with a poet's skill.
That passed in time. So too can this.
The Original:
Wélond him be wurman wreces cunnade
ánhýdiġ eorl earfoða drég
hefde him tó ġesíþþe sorġe end longoþ
wintercalde wræce wéan oft onfond
seoþþan hine níþhád on néde leġde
swoncre seonobende on sellan mon
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
Beadohilde ne wes hire bróðra déaþ
on seofan swé sár swé hire seolfre þing,
þet híe ġearolíċe onġeten hefde
þet híe écen wes; ǽfre ne mehte
þríste ġeþencan, hú ymb þet ṡċolde.
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
Wé þet Mǽþhilde monġe ġefrugnon
wurdon grundléase Ġéates fríge,
þet him séo sorglufu slép alle binom.
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
Þéodríċ áhte þrítiġ wintra
Méringa burg; þet wes moneġum cúþ.
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
Wé ġeáscadun Éormonríċes
wylfenne ġeþóht; áhte wíde folc
Gotena ríċes. Þet wes grim cyning.
Set seċġ moniġ sorgum ġebunden,
wéan on wénan, wyṡċte ġenehhe
þet þes cyneríċes ofercumen wére.
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
Siteþ sorgċeriġ, sélum bidǽled,
on seofan swerċeþ, seolfum þinceþ
þet síe endeléas earfoða dæl.
Meġ þonne ġeþencan, þet ġeond þás weoruld
on seofan swerċeþ, seolfum þinceþ
þet síe endeléas earfoða dæl.
Meġ þonne ġeþencan, þet ġeond þás weoruld
wítiġ dryhten wendeþ genehhe,
eorle monegum áre geṡċéawaþ,
wíslícne bléd, sumum wéana dǽl.
eorle monegum áre geṡċéawaþ,
wíslícne bléd, sumum wéana dǽl.
Þet iċ bi mé seolfum seċġan wille,
þet iċ hwíle wes Heodeninga sċop,
dryhtne déore. Mé wes Déor noma.
Áhte iċ feola wintra folgaþ tilne,
holdne hláford, oþþet Heorrenda nú,
léoþcreftiġ monn londreht ġeþáh,
þet mé eorla hléow ǽr ġesalde.
þet iċ hwíle wes Heodeninga sċop,
dryhtne déore. Mé wes Déor noma.
Áhte iċ feola wintra folgaþ tilne,
holdne hláford, oþþet Heorrenda nú,
léoþcreftiġ monn londreht ġeþáh,
þet mé eorla hléow ǽr ġesalde.
þes oferéode þisses swé meġ
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